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22 December 2008

Barney Frank - Theologian?

I know I said that I would not blog until after the first of the New Year, but I could not resist this one. Pastor Rick Warren, of Saddleback Church, was chose to bring the invocation at the inauguration of President-elect Obama. Ok, not exactly a firebrand of conservative Christianity, but evidently Barney Frank believes Warren's selection to be defective. My question for Mr. Frank (the Congress' first openly homosexual member) is what theological grounds do you base this judgment on? There is NO biblical basis for the acceptance of homosexual behavior (we are called only to love the sinner). In fact, whenever the unrepentant behavior is found, destruction, shame and judgment follow. Do Sodom and Gomorrah ring a bell?

I have my own opposition to the selection of Warren for this honor. First, he is NOT representative of the entire evangelical community. His desire to be 'relevent' has compromised what moral authority his position as pastor gives him. You base the success of a ministry solely on the number of members of Saddleback. Second, his positions on Global Warming, poverty and other social causes are NOT biblical. Man was created to have dominion over the earth AND its creatures. Jesus himself told his disciples that the poor would be with them always. Meaning that man was created to used the resources of the earth for himself, not the other way around.

Who would have been my choice? I have two men who would have fit the bill perfectly. Drs. Ergun Caner and Billy Graham. If the Obama administration truly desired diversity, Dr. Caner would have been a great choice. He is the FIRST former Muslim to be appointed President of a major American seminary. Obviously, Dr. Graham would have been a great choice because of his indellible impact upon the majority of the 20th century, otherwise called the American Century. Dr. Graham, in the twilight of his years, has seen much racial tension and strife, calling for an end to it based upon the love of Jesus for the world. To have him deliver the invocation for the inauguration for the first black President would have been truly historic.